The present invention is a toilet for pets that is easy to clean, odor free, and ultimately reduces or completely eliminates the need for litter or similar absorbent material.
Owners of small, largely indoor, animals such as cats have for many years provided trays, pans, or boxes of sand or other solid particulate matter as toilets for their pets. Cats, in particular, will instinctively use such a convenience with either minimal training or no training at all. Many brands of so-called xe2x80x9clitterxe2x80x9d are readily commercially available as litter box fillers. Most of these are formed from lightly fired bentonite clay that excels in absorbency.
The fastidious owner will usual scoop and dispose of fecal matter daily from the litter box, both for sanitary reasons and for reduction of odor. Disposal is somewhat of a nuisance, especially since litter studded feces should not be flushed into a septic system where the adhering clay can cause serious problems. Ultimately the litter becomes saturated with urine solids and must be disposed of and replaced since it is no longer absorbent. Bacterial action may also cause a strong ammonia or other unpleasant odors.
Over the years many inventors have tried to solve the problems associated with litter boxes. If the owners are diligent in training, some cats can be taught to use regular toilets. Even though the animals are naturally tidy, urine or feces often is found on the edge of the seat as an unpleasant surprise for the next human user. Numerous prior inventions to solve the problem have been described in the patent literature yet most have been either too complex, too expensive, or simply did not work as promised.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,289,799 to Wilson is an example of a very complex arrangement that automatically scoops litter, disposes of feces, and dries and returns cleaned litter to an area used by the pet for elimination. U.S. Pat. No. 5,996,533 to Gordon is another semiautomatic system that screens the litter and grinds and flushes away removed excrement. Waters, in U.S. Pat. No. Re 36,847 shows another automated litter box cleaning system. These three patents are exemplary of many other so-called automated cleaning systems.
Among specially designed flush toilets for dogs can be cited U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,464,580 to Johnson and 3,817,213 to Chalmers. Other examples that can be cited of greater or less complexity, specifically designed for cats and used on a standard toilet, are U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,584,656 to Anderson; 3,688,742 to McGee; 3,757,738 to Hall; and 5,216,979 to Sallee et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,437,430 to Be Bardeleben describes a tray used at the front edge of a toilet used as a training device. The tray is initially filled with litter that is progressively removed as the cat continues its use. Ultimately the tray itself is removed and the cat eliminates directly into the toilet.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,755,181 to Petkovski; and 6,176,201 to Fields are examples of hooded litter boxes containing ventilation arrangements to exhaust and disperse litter box odors.
With the exception of some of those arrangements designed to be used atop a human toilet, none of these devices fully or simply deal with the problem of entirely eliminating litter. Closer to the present invention might be cited U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,469,784 to Quinn; 3,688,741 to Thompson et al.; and 4,627,383 to Metzger. The Quinn device is primarily specific to rabbits. It consists of an outer surrounding wall with an entry opening, a false floor and a lower receptacle communicating with an opening in the false floor. The rabbit presumably sits over the opening and the excreta is collected in the bottom portion and periodically emptied. The Thompson et al. device is formed in two parts. The upper part has a planar surface and downwardly depending side walls. There is a generally keyhole-shaped opening in the upper part. A second part is a container supported beneath the opening and supported by rail-like extrusions on the depending sides of the upper part. This container is filled with litter to receive cat excrement and can be removed for cleaning. Side slots in the opening allow the cat to scratch litter over excreted matter. The Metzger patent is somewhat similar but uses a container filled with oil covered water beneath the upper surface. This container sits in a receptacle in the lower portion and is surrounded with litter whose sole purpose appears to be to attract the cat to a known environment.
None of the above many arrangements fully solve the problems of odor control or simple and easy waste disposal. The present invention is directed to those ends.
The present invention is a simple three-part toilet for collection of pet wastes. It is particularly suitable for cats but may also be used for other small animals, e.g., ferrets, that can be readily trained. It consists of a lower receptacle in the form of a relatively deep tray or pan. This will have the usual bottom and raised side and end walls with upper edges that may preferably be somewhat rolled or similarly formed. While the lower receptacle will usually be generally rectangular in configuration, other geometric forms are also suitable.
The lower receptacle has a cover that should preferably fit snugly on the upper edges. It is advantageous if the cover and lower receptacle have a xe2x80x9csnap fitxe2x80x9d to hold the cover tightly in place and prevent accidental dislodgment. The cover will have an upstanding circumferential rim sufficiently high to hold a nominal amount of litter and retain the litter against the normal scratching done by an animal using the device. It will also have an opening adjacent one end. This opening will be of a sufficient size to freely permit the passage of animal waste material into the lower receptacle.
The third part of the toilet is a relatively shallow tray located under the cover and suspended above the bottom of the lower receptacle. The tray is of a size that will completely fill the area beneath the opening in the top cover. The tray will be moveable in position so that it may be easily slid backwards and forwards so that it can be located fully beneath, partially beneath, or completely away from the opening in the cover. It should preferably have flange-like members along the sides that may rest either on the upper side edges of the lower receptacle or on a track arrangement provided on the side walls of the lower receptacle. The track may conveniently be in the form of parallel rails or ridges along the sides of the lower receptacle. Alternatively, it may be in the form of a shoulder or step formed in the side walls. In another alternative construction, the tray may be located on a track formed on the underside of the cover where it is not supported at all by the side walls. When this is the case the lower receptacle may be of almost any geometric cross section.
During an initial training period, in which the shallow tray will be in place beneath the opening in the cover, litter will be used in regular fashion in the cover portion and tray. Ultimately, after a training period in which litter is progressively removed, the animal will learn to relieve itself through the opening with the tray moved clear of the opening. At that time litter will no longer be required. It is then desirable to use a readily disposable liquid in the lower receptacle to receive urine and feces. This may be simply water or one of the enzymatic preparations widely used in portable toilets. It may also be water with a thin oil covering. In either case odor is minimized or completely eliminated.
It is a principal object of the invention to provide an animal toilet that is readily cleaned, is essentially odor free, and one for which an animal may be easily trained for its use.
It is another object to provide an animal toilet that is simple in construction and readily assembled or disassembled.
It is a further object to provide an animal toilet that ultimately may be used without the need for any solid litter.
It is also an object to provide an animal toilet that does not require a hood or similar arrangement to control odor.